Cash loses top spot to electronic card payments in eurozone for first time

Eurozone consumers seem to be welcoming the convenience of card and digital payments, which have long prevailed in parts of the world such as the US. 

Cards were used for 46% of all euros paid at points of sales in the eurozone, beating cash (42%) for the first time.

Cash is losing its top spot as the eurozone's dominant means of payment, a European Central Bank survey has shown, in a historic shift for a part of the world that has lagged behind peers in switching to new ways of settling bills.

The ECB survey showed that cards took the lion's share of money spent at shops, restaurants, and other points of sale in the eurozone for the first time since the central bank started to poll consumers in 2016.